Why Screen Driving Isn’t the Right Answer for Agentic Commerce (Or Anyone, Really)

Let’s get one thing straight: just because it works doesn’t mean it scales—or serves your business.

In the rush to make AI agents the next big thing in ecommerce, screen driving (or browser automation) has become a popular hack. It mimics human behavior by navigating websites the way a shopper would, pretending to click buttons, fill out forms, and complete purchases. Sounds clever on paper, but under the hood? It's a mess. It’s not secure. And it’s definitely not merchant-friendly.

AI agents instead should connect directly with merchant systems, not through screens, but through MCP: the Model Context Protocol. Let’s break down why this approach is broken, for merchants, for agents, and for acquirers.

It’s Technically Fragile (And Frustrating)

Screen driving relies on brittle UI assumptions. Change one button or class name on a page, and the whole thing breaks.

When that happens, who’s responsible? Who pays for the failed order, the fraud loss, or the customer complaint?

This approach is also slow and computationally expensive, agents have to see, parse, and act on visual elements in real time, which drags down performance and tanks scalability.

It might be viable for a massive marketplace with deep AI infrastructure. But for everyone else? It’s a non-starter.

It’s a Fraud Risk Waiting to Happen

The difference between a “good agent” and a bad bot? Not much, especially when both behave like anonymous traffic automating a checkout flow.

Screen driving creates new fraud vectors, bypasses key security layers, and often results in guest checkouts with virtual cards.

You lose customer attribution, loyalty benefits, and trust signals.

It’s “Accidentally” Anti-Merchant

We’re calling it what it is: screen driving strips control from merchants. It makes it harder to:

• Offer loyalty programs
• Suggest faster shipping
• Promote Buy Now, Pay Later or store cards
• Display “Add $X to get free shipping”
• Capture custom inputs like gift messages, delivery instructions, or T&Cs

The result? Depressed average order values. Lower conversion rates. No upsells. And a customer experience that feels disconnected and dumbed-down.

It’s Not a Real Customer Journey

Screen driving doesn’t build a relationship, it just completes a transaction.

But commerce is more than just “order placed.” It’s about understanding your customer, guiding their experience, and creating an opportunity to grow lifetime value.

When agents screen drive, they rob merchants of the data and control they need to:

• Personalize offers
• Cross-sell and upsell in-cart
• Capture opt-ins
• Build trust and loyalty

Agentic Commerce Deserves Better

Let’s be real: the promise of agentic commerce is too powerful to waste on duct-taped solutions like screen driving.

At Bold, we believe agents should connect directly with merchant systems, not through screens, but through MCP: the Model Context Protocol.

With MCP, we expose the merchant’s commerce engine to agents in a structured, secure, and scalable way. Agents can:

• Add and update products
• Capture real customer data (not fake guest info)
• Guide shipping and payment methods
• Respect merchant-specific logic, rules, and UI choices
• And most importantly: close the loop with a clean, authenticated, compliant order

This isn't “fake it till you make it” ecommerce. It's real transactions, real customer journeys, and real merchant value—powered by APIs, not clicks and prayers.

TL;DR: Don’t Let AI Take the Wheel, Give It the Right Keys

Screen driving is a shortcut that leads to dead ends.

It’s slow, error-prone, and undermines what makes ecommerce work: trust, flexibility, and control.

If you want agents that drive revenue (not chaos), give them the right tools, not a browser and a hope.

Let’s stop screen driving.

Let’s build the future with intent.

Let’s do it Bold.